Val Verde Includes Their ‘Scholars’ In the Use of Interim Assessment Results

Educators in Val Verde, CA are finding that including scholars (how they refer to students) in their educational journey by sharing interim assessment results with them builds confidence and ownership. Using Smarter Balanced formative assessment resources in the Digital Library and instructional supports has given teachers the tools to shape their instruction based on each scholar’s achievement level. The sky is the limit!

Val Verde Unified School District

Location: Riverside County

School: Triple Crown Elementary

Motto: Where success begins

Interview Date: June 2018

“Our goal is to support our students in ways that they need support, and so I couldn’t be more thrilled with the system that we’ve got in place here in Val Verde and in really using the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium resources as a partner for us.”Michael McCormick, Superintendent, Val Verde Unified School District

Spotlight on Strategy

Scholars at Val Verde Unified are making gains (in both Math and ELA) year over year. Here are some insights into the system of Smarter Balanced teaching resources Val Verde educators are using to increase learning:

Instructional coaches work with teams of teachers to administer interim assessment blocks (IABs) and review results using the reporting system.

IABs provide teachers powerful information about both groups of students and individual students in their classrooms.

Interims allow students to experience the rigor that they will experience on the year-end summative test, which gives them a big confidence boost.

Student scholars are more connected to their learning because they can see how they are doing and they want to know how they can improve.